Flesh + Blood

An even slicker record than Manifesto, Flesh & Blood precariously balances between alluringly seductive, sophisticated soul-pop and cloying, radio-ready disco-pop. At its best, the album is effortlessly suave and charming — "Over You" is one of their greatest singles, and "Oh Yeah" is nearly as persuasive — but much of the record is devoted to ill-formed, stylish lounge-pop. In particular, the reliance on reworked covers of "In the Midnight Hour" and "Eight Miles High" is distressing, not only because it signals a lack of imagination, but also because it suggests that Flesh & Blood is simply a lesser solo effort from Bryan Ferry. And even the handful of undeniably strong moments can't erase the feeling that Roxy Music was beginning to run out of ideas. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine.